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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. spring — the season
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stem — to come from
  19. kid — child
  20. spring — of water
  21. branch — a division
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. pop — to visit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com